Starting a business

Also don't have enough capital to hire an industry consultant to ask what to look out for.

Essentially I'm ready to go but I don't feel 100% ready because I'm not aware of important factors like the amount of demand there is, the industry size, etc etc. It's all just desk research from my own point of view.

I'm interested in helping but it's tough to give advice when I'm not sure if you're selling a product or service in your anonymous industry.

First you say service then you say planning ads for orders.

Also, every industry is different with fluctuations in demand.

>>3417207
You're asking for some very specialized advice on a topic not a lot of people know about, and you've forgotten the majority of 4chan's demographic is aged 16 to 25 and has HS level education.

>>3417077
>My question is, is it possible to start without any contacts, any useful insider advice, or any relevant previous job in the target industry?
I think it is, but without any form of social network or without a team behind you who's proven in your expertise, it is a very hard sell since customers naturally gravitate towards trusted services.
If you want to start right now, I'd be looking to advertise with something along the lines of "X years of experience in providing Y" and trying to establish your first industry contacts. Afterwards the word of mouth becomes invaluable or will destroy you.

>Essentially I'm ready to go but I don't feel 100% ready because I'm not aware of important factors like the amount of demand there is, the industry size, etc etc. It's all just desk research from my own point of view.
If you're not willing to spend time on the grind trying to network, just go for it. You sound like you have a pretty solid plan and understand the target industry to a fair extent (if you don't, you'll know pretty much immediately). If you fail to establish your social network within the industry within a reasonable time, you can not plan on customers coming to you in a highly specialized field, so have a contingency plan for that.

>>3417328
One of the other things I'd have to ask before wanting to be involved with a startup is: Do you understand your competition? Who are they? What do you do better than them? Who could potentially become your competitor? Is your service something which can be done inhouse? What makes it proprietary?

All of these are questions you should know the answer to, but it sort-of sounds like you're trying to do something new, which means that an existing company would either be doing their version of your service inhouse or would have it farmed out to a company you don't know about. Since you didn't specify your business's target size, I don't know if you're trying to 1-man it or have some form of team, but the answers would depend on that.

>>3417077
how do i buy this ico?

>>3417381
The competition consists of 3 other companies which all have the benefit of working with the industry since the 80s. However, their services are outdated and poor in comparison to what I could offer. Their age is beginning to show.

I believe it will either go two ways. I launch everything, get the website up, publish some interesting articles to be picked up by the industry news, etc and then I get a customer after a couple of months.

Alternatively it goes like this, I launch, the competitors see that I've launched then using their established contacts and finances simply adopt the advantages of my services. Then they will offer the same as me, have more experts at their disposal, and have the bonus of being in business for 30+ years on top. Meanwhile, I will have wasted a load of effort for nothing.

>>3417266
It's a service. A lot of companies take out ads in industry magazines which the people who make decisions read.